Hat



N. V. TIBBALS Jan. 18, 1938.

HAT

Filed March 14, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR MW/AN 1/ 7751mm 0RNEY$ N.V. TIBBALS Jan. 18, 1938.

2 Shelets-Shet 2 HAT Filed March 14, 1936 Fig. 4-

INVENTOR NAT/:MA/ 1/ 775mm an uncomfortable feeling.

Patented Jan/l8, 1938 Ares EEATEN'E" refer HAT Application March 14,1936, Serial No. 68,801

5 Claims.

My invention relates to bats, and especially to hats made principally ofstiff straw braid.

As is well known, stiff straw hats, such as the conventional sailorstraw hat are not adaptable to readily fit round, oval, long oval, shortoval and other variously shaped heads of individual wearers, even thoughthese individual wearers happen to all have the same diameter orstandard head size. For example, if a stiff straw hat with an ovalshaped crown is placed upon the head of a person having a substantiallyround shaped head it will grip oniy the sides and consequently blow offeasily. Also, when it has only such spot contact with a persons head itcauses To overcome these undesirable characteristics of the usual stiffstraw hats there have been proposed and tried many different expedients.The most common of these expedients have proved to involve the provisionof a so-called flexible zone or portion between the crown and the brimof the hat.

One of these previous proposals was to provide a flexible straw liningwithin the interior of a braided straw hat of a height to project butpartiallywithin the crown and to form the lower end of this lining withan integral extension or false brim which projects immediately beneathand in contact with the brim of the hat. In this proposal, the braidedstraw of the regular crown and brim portions of the hat, completelycover the lining, the flexibility of the head conforming portion beingachieved by omitting the stiffening, sizing or glue from the lowerportions of the braided straw crown and the brim. As a means ofsupporting the flexible portions of the hat, however, there are utilizeda plurality of rigid wires spaced radially of the crown and bent tooverlie and. be secured. to the flexible lining. Because of this, thevery. object of the flexible lining is largely defeated in that althoughthe lining is itself flexible, the effect is negatived by the presenceof the wires.

Likewise, in a hat with a flexible lining it has been proposed toprovide instead of wires, a plurality of segmental metal plates spacedcircumferentially of the brim of a hat and to anchor these to the crownportions of the hat by means of metal rods, in order to prevent the brimfrom sagging relative to the crown. These rods and plates as did thewires, actually prevent any material benefits flowing from the softerlining section intermediate the crown and brim even when leaving thehead conforming portions of the hat untreated with the usual stiffeningagents.

In addition to the proposals just discussed,

various other expedients have been brought forward. Most of these haveinvolved a special arrangement or handling of braided straw in the headengaging portion of the hat.

One such proposal was that the braid in the lower crown and inner brimshould be left untreated and that the overlapping braids in theseportions of the hat be sewed together, more securely than in the treatedportions of the hat. The purpose of the extra stitches was to prevent aseparation of the braids due to the constant flexing of the hat.

Another proposal was that the braid in the lower crown and inner brimshould be laid at right angles to the braid in the other portions of thehat. Still another proposal was that a finer braid be used in the headconforming portion of the hat. Yet another proposal was that thereshould be interposed between a stiff crown and a stiff brim of a braidedstraw hat, a flexible collar built up of a composite braid, the braidbeing composed of two overlapping braids, each of which was made of adifferent type of straw.

A further proposal was that the braid in the portion intermediate theupper side crown and the outer brim should be sewed together with aspecial form of stitching.

All of these proposals, involving the use of braided straw, weresomewhat helpful in overcoming the usual non-flexibility of a stiffstraw In none of them, however, could it be said hat. that the resultwas completely satisfactory. The reason for this is that in spite of thevarious arrangements and construction of the braid in the so-calledflexible portions of the hat, there remained the basic fact that braidedstraw, because of the intricate flattened and taut manner in which thestrands of straw therein are interlaced, is incapable of anyconsiderable flexibility. This is especially true when the braid is laidsubstantially flat, as are the encircling braids in the brim of a hat.

It has also been proposed to form the hat with an intermediate portioncomposed of overlapping strips of felt or the like. This expedient,while not without merit from the standpoint of resulting comfort to thewearer, made for a rather unsightly hat. Furthermore, the use of felt,to a large extent counteracted the very purpose of a straw hat, namelythat of keeping the them. Also many people much prefer a stiff straw hatof large or coarse straw regardless of cost.

The present invention has as its principal object, as did the Variousproposals above discussed, the provision of a hat, particularly a stiffstraw hat, with a portion which is flexible whereby the hat will beadapted to properly fit the head of the wearer, whether the head be ofround, oval, long oval, short oval, or round oval shape. This object isobtained, however, not by the use of felt strips or specially arrangedor constructed interlaced straws or straw braids, but by the use of aflexible collar of laid together straw which is more flexible than anyof the interlaced braided constructions heretofore proposed.

It is a further object of the invention to accomplish this desired endin a novel and meritorious manner, wherein, because of the particularconstruction used, the'hat while having a flexible portion willnevertheless retain its general contour without the necessity of usinganysupplemental supporting means, such as the wires, metal plates andthe like hereinbefore referred to and prevent the brim section of thehat from sagging in any way relative to the crown.

It is a-still further object of the invention to provide .a stiff strawhat that will evenly fit the head of the wearer and hence will be moresecure.- ly held in place on the wearers head. This is of particularimportance when the hat is worn on a windy day.- I

It is an important object'of the present invention to provide a newarticle of manufacture in the form of a flexible head gripping collar,which will be soft and yielding yet well fixed upon a persons head, foruse in various types of hats.

A very important feature of the invention consists in providing a stiffstraw hat with aflexible collar of layed together strands of straw, thecollar beinginterposed between and connected to the stiff crown andstiif brim of the hat.

Another feature of the invention resides in 'the interpositioningbetween the. stiff crown and stiff brim of a'straw hatof a flexiblecollar having an upstanding circumferential portion and an outwardlyextending portion connected to the stiff crownandstiff brimrespectively, the collar being composed of a plurality of substantiallyparallel rows of strands of straw, the adjacent rows being tied togetherby a plurality of circumferentially spaced tightly drawn transversethreads.-

With this structureit is possible to provide a stiff braided straw hat,which is a preferred type of straw hat with many people, but which willhave a soft head conforming section between the crown and brim sectionsthereof.

Still another feature of the invention consists in providing a flexiblecollar for insertion intermediate a relatively stiff crown and arelatively stiff brim of a straw or other hat, the flexible collarhaving an upwardly extending portion composed of a plurality ofsuperposed annular layers of strands of straw secured together andhaving an outwardly extending portion composed of a plurality ofsubstantially concentric circumferentially disposed rows of strands ofstraw securedctcgether to form a unitary structure of interdigitatedsubstantially parallel rows.

And yet another feature of the'inv'entio-n resides in providing a hatwith a flexible collar of laid together straw. interposed between arelatively stiff crown part and a relatively stiff brim part, thecollar'having an upwardly extending portionco'nn'ected" to therelatively stiff crown and therefore more adaptable to various headshapes and also more. comfortable than those heretofore provided.

Another feature is the provision of a soft head conforming section in ahat made of laid together straw as distinguished from braided straw,adapted to located and support a stiif brim relative to a stiff crownwithout the use of strengthening wires or plates.

Other and more specific features residing in advantageous forms,combinations and relations of parts will hereafter appear.

In the'drawings illustrating the preferred embodiments of my invention:

Figure l is a top view of a hat constructed in accordance withmyinvention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the same with the hat band partially brokenaway.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the same.

Figure 4 is a top view of the stiff crown portion of the hat.

Figure 5 is a side view of the stiff crown portion of the hat.

Figure 6 is a. vertical sectional view of the flexible collar.

Figure 7 is a bottom view of the flexiblecollar.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the hatconstructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 9 is an. illustration of the conventional braid of which thestiff crown and brim portions are made.

Figure 10 is an illustration of the laid together straw as used in theupwardly extending portions of the flexible collar.

Figure 11 is an illustration of the laid together straw as used in theoutwardly extending portions of the flexible collar.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary view of the brim of the hat showing the plainedge of the braid directed toward the crown.

Figure 13 is a sectional .view taken on the line I3l3 of Figure '7.

To facilitate an understanding of the present invention it may bepointed out that the term braided as used herein refers to structures inwhich the individual straws are crossed over and under each other, orinterlaced together, and the term -laid together,refers to a structurein which the straws are laid. together in a parallel manner and are notinterlaced.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings illustrating the presentpreferred embodiment of the invention there is shown a straw hat l5having a relatively stiff crown portion l6 composed of a plurality ofrows of overlapping braids of straw ll, such as shown in Figure 9, sewedtogether and treated with a stiffening agent in the conventional manner.Spaced downwardly and outwardly from the relatively stiff crown portioni6 is a relatively stiif brim portion I8 formed, like the crown portion,in the conventionalmanner of arplurality of overlapping rows of braidsof straw. Interposed between, and connecting the stiff crown and thestiff brim, in a manner to be described in detail hereinafter, is aflexible collar iii.

The flexible collar, unlike the stiff crown l6 and the stiff brim i8, isconstructed of a plurality of substantially parallel rows of strands ofstraw 2B, lying closely adjacent one another and tied together bytightly drawn transverse or radially disposed threads. The straw in thisportion of the hat is therefore aptly described as laid together strawas distinguished from the braided straw of the other portions of thehat.

As best shown in Figure 8, the flexible collar 29 is composed of anupwardly extending -por tion 2! and an outwardly extending portion 22.Preferably, and as shown, the upwardly extending portion overlaps aninner face 23 of the sidewall of the crown l6 and is secured thereto bysuitable stitchings. The outwardly extending portion of the flexiblecollar is positioned adjacent the lower edge of the upwardly extendingportion and has secured to it the stiff brim portion E8 of the hat. Inorder that the connection between the stifi brim and the outwardlyextending portion of the flexible collar may present a smooth and evenappearance it is preferable, as shown in Figure 8, to form the stiffbrim with spaced inwardly extending portions 24 and 25 constituting acircumferentially disposed socket 26, adapted to lap the upper and lowerfaces 2! and 28 respectively of the outwardly extending portion 2?. andbe secured thereto by suitable stitching 29. If desired the braid in theoverlapping portions of the stiff brim. may be arranged in such a waythat the inner row of braid has its regular or plain edge 30 extendingtoward the crown portion as shown in Figure 12 as well as in such a waythat the irregular cr pattern edge 3! will extend toward the crownportion as shown in Figure 3.

Preferably the collar l9 and brim l8 are associated by sewing one layer4| of braid H to the undersideand one layer 4!! of braid i? to theupperside of the outwardly extending portion 22, and if desired, twolayers of braid, not shown, may be advantageously inserted between thelayers it} and M to space the latter and provide the pocket 26.

In the flexible collar IS the upwardly extending portion 2! is composedof a plurality of super imposed annular layers of strands of straw 28tied together by a plurality of tightly drawn circumferentially spacedtransverse threads 32. It is within the purview of the invention tobuild up the annular layers either by winding the strands of straw in acontinuous helix or by winding the strands to form separate annularrings. Preferably, and as shown, the spaced transverse threads 32 areeach composed of two strands 32a. and 3213 which are interlaced to formloops 32 similar to the loops formed in a lock stitch, each loopencircling one of the annular layers and tying it to the adjacent layerto effectuate a continuous band of laid together straw.

The outwardly extending portion 22 of the collar, like the upwardlyextending portion 2!, is composed of laid together straw 2t andpreferably is tied to the lower annular layer 33 of the upwardlyextending portion by a continuation of the circumferentially spacedthreads. The outwardly extending portion may be built up either of aplurality of separate annular rings lying one within the other or it maybe built up by winding the strands of straw in a continuous spiral. Ineither event, there is formed a plurality of substantially concentriccircumferential rows of strands of straw resulting as shown, in asubstantially flat ring encircling the upwardly extending or bandportion and projecting outwardly from adjacent the lower edge thereof.

In order that the flat ring portion 22 of the collar is, which in thecompleted hat constitutes the inner brim, may be rigid enough tomaintain its shape and at the same time flexible enough to permit thehat to be readily adaptable to properly fit heads of varying shapes, thevarious rows are interdigitated or interlocked as the fingers of twojoined hands. An advantageous manner of accomplishing this desiredresult is to provide, as was done in the upwardly extending portion 2!,circumferentially spaced threads 32 composed of double strands 32a and32b interlaced to form strand holding loops 32, as shown in Figures '7and 13. However, instead of having each of the threads, which extendradially from the band portion 2!, loop each circumferential row in thesame manner in which each annular layer in the band portion was looped,the threads are interwoven with the rows to alternately pass over thetop and the bottom of adjacent rows, looping each alternate row andtieing it together with the alternate rather than with the adjacent row.Successive radially extending threads loop and tie together alternaterows not tied together by the preceding radially extending thread. Inthis manner, various rows of strands of straw have circumferentiallyspaced portions which overlie and underlie adjacent rows and there isthus developed a construction in which the various rows support andrestrain one another but at the same time permit a ready flexing of theunitary structure.

Preferably, and as illustrated in Figs. 8 and-l3 of the drawings, theoutwardly extending portion is formed by providing a plurality ofsuperposed layers of the concentric circumferentially disposed rows ofstrands of straw; an upper layer '34, a lower layer and an intermediatelayer 36, being shown. In interdigitating the strands of straw andsecuring the superposed layers in a unitary structure with the radiallyextending transverse threads, it is desirable, as heretofore explained,to tie together alternate rows. A particularly advantageous manner ofaccomplishing this result and which constitutes a feature of theinvention, involves interweaving the radially extending threads 32 toloop alternately the upper and intermediate and the lower andintermediate layers in adjacent circumferential rows. Successiveradially extending threads 32 loop the intermediate layer in a row withthe layer not looped by the preceding radially extending thread.

In this manner the upper layer of rows and the lower layer of rows areeach tied to the intermediate layer of rows, and the radially extendingthreads are interwoven to alternately pass over the top and the bottomof adjacent rows in each of the two outer or exposed layers, loopingeach alternate row therein and tieing it together with the alternaterather than the adjacent row. In this manner, also, the various rows inthe upper and lower layers, which are the exposed layers, are so securedtogether that the various rows in the upper and lower layersrespectively have circumferentially spaced portions in the form ofbulges 39 overlying and underlying the next adjacent row in the samelayer. An interdigitated construction such as this is, as previouslypointed out, especially advantageous, making possible a unitarystructure which while being capable of holding its general shape, is atthe same time suiflciently flexible to readily and automatically adaptitself to the particular shape of the head of a wearer. While thespecific structure shown involves a three layer construction, it is tobe understood, however, that the fundamental idea of interdigitatingcircumferential rows to achieve the combined result of a constructionwhich is flexible and also has the ability to hold its general shapeiscapable of being accomplished in a single layer structure as well as inone having a plurality of layers. The advantage of a structure built upof three layers is that it will hold its shape somewhat better than onehaving but a single layer.

After the hat is built up in the manner hereinbefore set forth it ispreferably treated with gelatin or the like and pressed to the finalshape. For example the outwardly extending section 22 and the brim I3are flattened and reduced approximately one-third in thickness and arethus also made to substantially parallel each other on the top andbottom faces. Consequently, the hat has the same general appearancethroughout and the different appearance of the collar I 9 is notapparent to the casual observer.

The flexible collar E9 of the present invention may be used equally withbrims and crowns of divers braid and of materials other than straw, aswill be readily understood by those skilled in the art. It, therefore,constitutes a novel and advantageous new article of manufacture.

Because the straws 2B of the collar l9 are not interlaced, and becausethey are somewhat hollow and soft they yield readily to outward pressureby sections of a persons head when a hat is put on. However, thecircumference of the collar does not alter. Thus the present inventionprovides a flexible insert for hats which conforms readily to divershead shapes yet retains its size.

Also, it will be appreciated from the foregoing that the presentinvention provides a structure wherein conventional and often preferablestraw hats with a crown and brim of stiff unyielding braided straw maybe provided with a soft yielding head gripping section which is moreyielding, soft and adapted to grip the head of a wearer better than thegenerally used interlaced or braided section and which also disposeswith supporting wires, metal plates and the like which are oftenrequired to support a brim relative to a crown when a softer headconforming section is provided.

A hat constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention is,therefore, seen to be adapted to readily fit the head of a wearerwhether the head be round, oval, round oval, long oval or short oval,resulting in greater comfort to the wearer and at the same timepresenting a neat appearance.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of thisinvention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A straw hat comprising a relatively stiff crown portion; a relativelystiff brim portion spaced downwardly and outwardly from said relativelystiff crown portion; and an intermediate flexible collar having upwardlyand outwardly extending portions interposed between andrespectively'connected to said relatively stiff crown and brim portions,said upwardly extending portion being composed of a plurality ofsuperposed annular layers of substantially parallel strands of strawsecured together, and said outwardly extending portion being composed ofa plurality of circumferential rows of substantially parallel strands ofstraw lying one within the other and so flexibly secured together byradially extending threads having strands looping alternatecircumferential rows that each row has circumferentially spaced portionsoverlying the next adjacent row.

2. A straw hat comprising a braided straw crown part having a side wall;a braided straw brim part spaced downwardly and outwardly from saidbraided straw crown part; and an intermediate flexible collar interposedbetween said braided crown and brim parts, said collar having anupstanding continuous band portion secured to the side wall thereof andalso having a flat ring portion extending outwardly from said bandportion and secured to said braided straw brim, said band portion beingcomposed of a plurality of superposed annular layers of substantiallyparallel strands of straw tied together by a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced transverse threads looping each layer, and saidflat ring portion being composed of a plurality of circumferential rowsof substantially parallel strands of straw lying one within the other,said circumferential rows being secured together by a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced radially extending threads having strandsinterwoven to loop each alternate circumferential row.

3. A straw hat comprising a relatively stiff crown portion; a relativelystiff brim portion spaced downwardly and outwardly from said relativelystiff crown portion; and an intermediate flexible collar interposedbetween said relatively stiff crown and brim portions, said collarhaving an upwardly extending portion connected to said relatively stiffcrown portion and an outwardly extending portion connected to saidrelatively stiff brim portion, said upwardly extending portion beingcomposed of a plurality of superposed annular layers of substantiallyparallel strands of straw and said outwardly extending portion beingcomposed of an upper, a lower and an intermediate inner layer ofsubstantially concentric circumferentially disposed rows ofsubstantially parallel strands of straw, said layers of substantiallyconcentric circumferentially disposed rows being secured together toform a unitary structure by a plurality of circumferentially spacedradially extending threads having strands interwoven to loopalternately, the upper and intermediate and the lower and intermediatelayers in adjacent circumferential rows, successive radially extendingthreads looping the intermediate layer in a row with the layer notlooped by the preceding radially extending thread.

4. A flexible collar for a relatively stiff hat comprising an upwardlyextending portion and, an.

outwardly extending portion secured to and extending outwardly from thelower edge of the upwardly extending portion, said upwardly extendingportion being composed of a plurality of superposed annular layers ofsubstantially parallel strands of straw secured together, and saidoutwardly extending portion being composed of an upper, a lower and anintermediate layer of substantially concentric circumferentiallydisposed rows of substantially parallel strands of straw, said layers ofsubstantially concentric circumferentially disposed rows being securedtogether to form a unitary structure by a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced radially extending threads having strands interwoven to loopalternately the upper and intermediate and the lower and intermediatelayers in adjacent circumferential rows, successive radially extendingthreads looping the intermediate layer in a row with the layer notlooped by the preceding radially extending thread.

5. A straw hat comprising a braided straw crown part having aside wall;a braided straw brim part spaced downwardly and outwardly from saidcrown part; and an intermediate flexible collar interposed between saidbraided crown and brim parts, said collar having an upwardly extendingband portion connected to said side wall and having an outwardlyextending flat ring portion connected to said braided straw brim part,said band portion being composed of a plurality of superposed annularlayers of substantially parallel strands of straw tied together bycircumferentially spaced transverse threads, and said ring portion beingcomposed of a plurality of circumferential rows of substantiallyparallel strands of straw tied together by circumferentially spacedradially extending threads having strands interwoven to loop radiallyspaced circumferential rows in said ring portion.

NATHAN V. TIBBALS.

